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Neil Stanley, a sleep expert from the University of East Anglia, said that the recession was partly to blame.

He said: “Often we give people the advice that they should write down their problems, to help them ease their stress before they go to sleep.

“But if you have just lost your job and are facing having your house repossessed then writing your worries down is unlikely to do very much to help.

“Those of us who are still in jobs are also working very, very hard and have less time to reflect on our worries than previous generations, meaning that we start to think about them as we try to get to sleep.”

Another reason for the rise could be that doctors are more willing to prescribe sleeping tablets, he added, because newer versions of the pills, which came on the market 10 to 15 years ago, are less addictive.

However, a spokesman for Battle Against Tranquillisers warned that some could still trigger addiction.

He said: “People should not be on these drugs from longer than two to four weeks as they can be addictive.”